Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart

By dymnyno, posted 10 months ago

Photo: Sarah Shatz

Amanda & Merrill's Notes:

People who taste this smooth, fragrant tart won't believe that it contains a whole lemon, rind and all! Nor will they understand how you got it to be so fragrant and light and not at all gummy like lemon curd tarts can sometimes be. In our view "Mary" wasn't lazy at all, she was brilliant. She has you whiz the filling together in a blender, then simply pour it into a blind-baked tart shell. Dymnyno gave the tart her own touch -- a Meyer lemon -- which lends it fragrance and finesse and none of the intrusive acidity found in regular lemons. One catch: you'll need to use your own tart dough. If you don't have a favorite, we recommend the Joy of Cooking's sweet pastry dough. We lined a 9-inch fluted tart pan with it, pricked it with a fork, filled it with pie weights and blind-baked it at 375 F for 15 minutes then removed the weights and baked it for another 10 minutes. Once the tart shell cooled we added the lemon filling and sent it back for one last turn in the oven. Start checking it at 35 minutes. - A&M

Versions of this simple quick dessert have circulated around the valley for years. It's a great dessert to make at the last minute. I have quite a few lemon trees , mostly Eureka (big thick skinned), but only a few sweet Meyer lemons which make the best tarte But, it only takes one large lemon! Unfortunately for me, lemons don't pair very well with red wine. - dymnyno

Serves 1 tart

1 large meyer lemon cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 cup superfine suger
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
your favorite tart shell

Put all ingredients (except tart shell) into a blender and whirl like crazy!
Pour into tart shell
Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees (watch that the top does not burn.

Comments (40)Add yours

marley16 20 days ago: already made my mouth water & then I saw the idea of the pecan maple crust and now I'm craving it!
drbabs about 1 month ago: I made this on vacation--it was so easy and delicious! But the oven was weird so it came out a little runny (which didn't keep people from coming back for seconds)--really great dessert!
lapadia 4 months ago: Meyer lemon, a favorite of mine; I recently made this tart and loved every bite, will definitely make again and again!
Lizthechef 5 months ago: Made this for a dinner party tonight. Had some extra filling so I baked it in a ramekin. It's hard to believe I used a whole lemon...I think I will reduce the sugar some next time - so hard to judge, as Meyer lemons vary re sweetness. Thank you-
dymnyno 5 months ago: Great!! I just made it myself for a dinner party at a friends house tonight. She will be expecting my Sara's almond tart so this will be a surprise.
hope.thurman 7 months ago: Made this tonight. AMAZING! I almost ate the entire thing. Such a great winter/citrus dessert/breakfast.
Sasa Stucin + Jan Vranjek 7 months ago: Second time in this month. I got obsessed.
aargersi 7 months ago: Made this for a dinner party Saturday night and it was a HIT! I used a pecan maple crust recipe that is super easy (Lazy Me! :-) and it all came together perfectly. Bless you Lazy Mary! This appears to be one of the most popular recipes on Food52!!!
AntoniaJames 7 months ago: Can you share the recipe for the pecan maple crust? I was considering a pine nut crust (a la French Laundry cookbook), but the pecan and maple sounds heavenly. I have a dinner party coming up and this is definitely on the menu.
aargersi 6 months ago: Hey I JUST saw this post! Crust is easy-peasy and I don't really measure per se ... just mix half ground pecans half flour (maybe about 1/2 - 3/4 cups each) then pulse those with a stick of butter, then drizzle in enough maple syrup to form it into a sort of dough - I spray a pie plate with no-stick then press this mixture in - and that's IT ... I bake it as is for no bake (cream cheese) fillings and with your tart I just filled and baked and it was perfect!
Cordelia 7 months ago: made this one yesterday. Excellent recipe, everybody enjoyed it including kids! Thanks for posting. I actually used only 1 cup of sugar and it was great and accentuated the flavor of the lemon. Also, trying Merrill & Amanda's approach for baking the tart shell, it was a little over baked, so I think I'll try dymnyno approach next time. This is a keeper!
scottscooking 8 months ago: We made this last night and the results were fantastic. I used one meyer lemon that was big - maybe 3.5” in length and 2.5” in diameter. I cooked the tart for around 35 minutes until the top was brown. The flavor was sublime...Also, not a bad recipe to do with kids since the blender part is a kid magnet - easy, loud and foolproof.
Masha 8 months ago: I made this recipe as soon as I saw it! It was delish! However it didn't set and was runny, unlike the photo. What do you consider a "large" meyer lemon? I think they are normally smaller than regular lemons. I used two 2.5" long ones, assuming they were small, was that too much? Also, I didn't have superfine sugar, so I ground the regular sugar in the food processor. Lastly, I approximated the cooking time and it could've been a little under 40 min (was distracted with kids). I'm guessing that was probably the cause. Any advise would be much appreciated. Thank you so sharing this recipe!!!
Masha 7 months ago: P.S. Made it a 2nd time and it turned out perfect! I'm not sure what I did differently from the first time, except may be cooked it longer.
Culinista Annouchka 8 months ago: Looks amazing!
Culinista Annouchka 6 months ago: I made it this weekend, it was fabulous. I actually put the mixture into ramequins and in a water bath, it was a superb crust-less lemon tart!
AntoniaJames 6 months ago: Great idea, putting the mixture into ramekins. I've been thinking of doing that, too. How long did it take to cook them? Thanks! ;o)
Culinista Annouchka 6 months ago: I think 5 to 7 minutes longer than the tart...I've written about here: http://culinistannouchka.com/2010/02/22/meyer-lemon-pudding/
sweet enough 8 months ago: I can't wait to try this! what a great recipe.
melissav 8 months ago: If the meyer lemons I found are small should I use two?
dymnyno 8 months ago: Yes, I would use two.
melissav 8 months ago: I finally made this "lazy tart" last night to accompany an equally lazy meal - stone crabs and mustard sauce from the fish market with roasted potatoes and asparagus. It was a fantastic end to the meal - much better than the traditional key lime pie. So good in fact that my husband and I both ate a slice for breakfast this morning and I'm making another one for our champagne tasting this Monday at the shop! Thanks for the recipe.
melissav 7 months ago: Made this three times already. It is very dangerous as I can't seem to resist my urges for just one more slice . . .over and over again!
QueenOfGreen 8 months ago: Congrats on the win! I've been looking at this recipe for several weeks thinking "REALLY? The WHOLE lemon?!" - as soon as I can get my hands on a Meyer lemon I'll give it a try!
QueenOfGreen 7 months ago: Second time was a charm. First time I learned to beware the stray seed!
Janneke Verheij 8 months ago: Very nice, I used a similar 'lazy technique' some time ago; making a tart with whole oranges and yogurt and no tart shell. You can find it with my recipes. I'll surely try this one with lemon as well, looks delicious and so fast.
Rhonda35 8 months ago: So, if we have no way of sourcing a Meyer lemon, is this tart unattainable??
Gale 8 months ago: I live in Vermont and was astonished and delighted to see them at my local Costco in Burlington two days ago - they were very high quality. You might try there if you have one nearby.
dymnyno 8 months ago: I am not an expert on lemons. Meyer lemons are very sweet and have very thin skins with little bitter white pith. If you use a lemon with thin skin and very little pith it might work. Let me know if you try it.(I tried with a Eureka lemon once and it was aweful!)
AntoniaJames 8 months ago: If I were not using a Meyer lemon, I'd remove the outer. yellow zest and then remove everything inside the lemon, except the pips, of course. I.e., I'd make the tart using just the zest and the fruit, and not the pith and pips.
TasteFood 8 months ago: OK, I am intrigued. I love lemon tarts, and I love meyer lemons. I can't wait to try this. Sorry about the red wine.
shersue 8 months ago: call me really lazy - but can i use a "high-end" store bought pie shell??
dymnyno 8 months ago: of course!
dymnyno 8 months ago: I have also made this without the crust...
Midge 8 months ago: Can't wait to make this. Fellow Meyer lemon freaks: try the Gourmet recipe for Meyer lemon marmalade (epicurious.com). It's amazingly delicious.
Aliwaks 8 months ago: This is so perfect, just picked up many bags of Meyer lemons at Whole foods on sale $1.99 per bag!!! I am making this this weekend!
Maria Teresa Jorge 8 months ago: Congratulations for the prize, it's really deserved, great take on this lemon Tart. Thank you for sharing it.
zora 8 months ago: Do you melt the butter, or just put it in the blender in chunks? This reminds of a Shaker lemon tart...with technology applied.
dymnyno 8 months ago: Don't melt the butter ... just cut it into slices.
AntoniaJames 8 months ago: Mmmmm, yum. My Meyer lemons are just ripening now. I'll have to try this one soon. It looks a bit like a lemon curd, but much easier. Two thumbs up for that!! I've never thought about just putting the lemon in a blender for something like this. It makes sense, though, because the Meyer lemon has such a thin skin, there isn't much of the bitter pith that you get with other varieties. Thank you for posting this!
dymnyno 8 months ago: Thank you! Yikes !...After the snow we just had , I hope that my Meyer lemons survive...also, blood oranges , tangerines, and oranges. It is 34 degrees here today (Calistoga)

Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart

Amanda & Merrill's Notes:

Serves 1 tart

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